Govt surveys where to build 78,000 low-cost houses

Submitted by Najiah on Thursday, July 29th, 2010

MARHALIM ABAS

Thursday, July 29th, 2010 13:50:00

PETALI NG JAYA: The government is planning to build 78,000 low-cost houses nationwide within the next five years.

Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Chor Chee Cheung said a government survey identified some 95,000 families living in squalor.

He said the government had yet to decide where to build the low-cost housing projects.

"We cannot simply build these houses without first finding out the demand. We do not want these houses to be empty, which will defeat the purpose of building them in the first place," he said after opening the 13th National Housing and Property Summit here this morning.

Chor said from a survey found the biggest demand were for homes in Selangor, Penang, Kedah and Pahang. He said the ministry would build some 39,000 homes while the rest would be managed by the Rural Development Ministry.

In another development, Chor said the ministry was looking for "white knights" among local property developers to help revive some 40-odd abandoned housing projects nationwide.

He said the ministry revived some 50 abandoned housing projects in the past few years.

Chor said the ministry had blacklisted the developers and company directors of the abandoned housing projects so they would not able to prey on house buyers again.

Comments

It is not understood why huge capital financial outlays are made to launch new low cost housing projects when it is reported that there are thousands of abandoned projects involving tens of thousands of low cost houses that are located throughout the country. It is definately cheaper to rehabilitate the existing abandoned projects which may be partially or substantially completed than to start new projects that would need new lands. Common financial sense would suggest to stop new projects and complete the existing partially completed houseing projects as it would be both cost-effective and cost-efficient. Government should use part of the the billons for rehabilitation and use the excess for other useful purposes. Gursharan Singh C.M.I.I.A.

Submitted by Gursharan Singh C.M.I.I.A. on Friday, July 30th, 2010.

Submitted by Gursharan Singh C.M.I.I.A. on Friday, July 30th, 2010.

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